It is critical to evaluate gender-specific residential post-release
programs that provide at-risk women with supports that serve to increase
abstinence from substance use, reduce HIV risk behaviors, reduce psychological
symptoms, decrease recidivism, and help attain better health outcomes. It is
important to identify the types of settings or interventions that might promote
health service utilization and more positive health outcomes following release
from jail. Structure and supportive recovery homes may be effective in
promoting health outcomes and increasing positive health behaviors through
social support (Jason et al., 2006b). From initial contact onward, the DePaul
research team and the Oxford House community have been active participants and
both endeavored to maintain the alliance. The University team not only strived
to cultivate collaborative and cooperative relationships with Oxford House, but
also was committed to active involvement in the process of creating change.
Some examples of collaborative endeavors of the research team and Oxford House
include the involvement in the establishment of the first Men’s, first Women's,
and first Women with Children’s Oxford Houses in Illinois, as well as
historical and ongoing involvement in activities that support the national
growth of Oxford House. The present study examined the potentially different
roles of abstinence-specific and general social support for African-American
women who are exiting from the criminal justice system. A pretest-posttest
experimental design will be employed that compares communal-living settings
supportive of abstinence (i.e., Oxford House condition) to a usual care
condition. We hypothesized that women assigned to the Oxford House condition
will report reduced HIV risk behaviors and better health outcomes (i.e., better
medical adherence and health service utilization), decreased recidivism,
increased abstinence from substance use, improved psychological functioning,
and higher levels of support than women assigned to the usual care condition at
all follow-up intervals. Our data have now been collected and we are involved
in data analysis.

Below are staff involved in data analysis and write up of
studies:

Doreen Salina is submitting an HIV profile paper and working
on a CDIS trauma paper.

Project
Title: Reducing
Health Disparities within the Hispanic/Latino Population

Funding
Source: National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

Leonard
A. Jason, Ph.D., Principal Investigator

Josefina
Alvarez, Ph.D., Co-Principal Investigator

Julia
DiGangi, Ph.D., Project Director

Culturally-modified Oxford Houses may be a more effective
option for Hispanic/Latino individuals who are Spanish-dominant, less
comfortable with U.S. culture, or identify more strongly with their ethnic
culture. In these Houses, all residents are Hispanic/Latino, and participants
have the option of speaking English, Spanish, or a mixture of both languages.
Culturally-modified Oxford Houses provide a more culturally-congruent
experience such as welcoming visits by extended family members. In addition,
residents of Culturally-modified Oxford Houses are more likely to use
culturally-congruent communication styles, characterized by an emphasis on
relationships, downplaying direct conflict in relationships in order to
preserve harmony, and respect. In the present study, we compared the outcomes
of Hispanic/Latino individuals assigned to a Culturally-modified Oxford Houses
to those assigned to a Traditional Oxford House. Data have been collected and
analyzed, and we are currently writing up several final papers on this data
set.

The
primary aim of this project was to employ a randomized design to more closely
study the role played by post-release aftercare in the outcomes of 270 criminal
offenders who received in-prison substance abuse treatment. This study compared
the relative effectiveness of Therapeutic Community (TC) aftercare to an
Oxford House (OH) aftercare alternative that provides a supportive living
environment without the professional treatment of TC aftercare. Bringing
scientific methods to the examination of TCs and the OH community-based
recovery models for addiction will help identify the active ingredients of
these recovery settings. Few if any comparison groups have provided a
residential setting that emphasizes socialization and abstinence from drugs and
alcohol, a hallmark of TC aftercare settings. The proposed study utilized
ex-offenders randomly assigned to either TCs, OHs, or usual care post-release
settings, and examine program effects (i.e., substance use, criminal and health
outcomes), and economic factors associated with these models. All data have
been collected and are now being analyzed. Research findings from a study that
contrasts these different approaches has the potential of influencing practice
and informing policy.